An executive wrote in a leaked email that economic challenges stemming from inflation and high gas costs could allow Applebee's to pay employees less.
The executive director of operations for the Applebees franchise made comments in an email that was uploaded to the r/ antiwork group.
Everyone knows that gas prices are going up. Pankratz writes that the advantage this has for us is that it will increase application flow and possibly lower our average wage.
Pankratz acknowledged in his email that most of the workforce lives paycheck to paycheck. People who rely on unemployment funds will be forced to find work.
Stimulus money is no longer available, so people will have less money to spend. It will force people back into work.
Pankratz predicted in an email that the wage war was about to end. Pankratz suggested lowering salaries and acknowledging that many of the employees at Applebee's would need to work second jobs.
Pankratz wrote that hiring employees at a lower wage to decrease labor was a good idea. Many will need to work more hours to get a second job. Make sure you are the employer of choice. Schedules should be completed early so they can plan their jobs around you.
Fortune's request for comment was not immediately responded to by Applebee's.
Thousands of people have commented on the social media outrage against Pankratz, and many are planning to boycott the company.
I have not and continue to not dine at Applebees after getting food poisoning twice. On Wednesday, a user said that this could be the nail in the coffin.
Rob Gill said on Wednesday that higher gas prices are great for business because most employees live check to check and hopefully they can start lowering wages.
Another reason to never go to an applebees again. The email was sent by director of operations Wayne Pankratz, who acknowledges that paycheck to paycheck employees are struggling and that it would drive people to take a job at their restaurant.
Some companies appear to be exploiting the recession for their own gain. Corporations are reporting record profit margins in the wake of the Pandemic, whether it is lowering employee wages or raising consumer prices.
In November of last year, the CFOs of P&G and Unilever both admitted to raising the prices of their products, with the P&G CFO saying he felt good about the price hikes because consumers were not reacting badly.
There is a debate on whether large companies are raising prices because they are facing increased costs and passing them on to the consumer, or simply because they can. Critics claim that companies are exploiting inflation and raising their prices by choice. This line of thinking is championed by Democratic elected officials.
Nike blamed inflation for a 10.5% price spike on a pair of expensive sneakers made by workers in Vietnam earning less than a buck an hour.
All Rights Reserved © 2024
